The Death of the Music Industry

A very interesting article at Business Insider on the death of the music industry.  As you can see, people aren't spending near as much as they used to.  The article thinks this is due to people only  downloading individual songs instead of entire albums.  There are tons of charts and facts in the article, but still, I think, something is missing.

I'd like to see similar charts for different styles of music.  I have the impression, and perhaps it's just me, that the music industry spends a lot of money on the technology of recording and post-processing music.  Perhaps this is sustainable for artists who hit a sweet spot in the population (like we Baby Boomers), but is unsustainable for niche markets.  The music industry rose with the Baby Boomers, spiked when we converted our favorite albums to CD, and now falls as fewer pop artists try to please us. 

Just a thought.

Obama's 2012 Budget Proposal

Either click on the picture above, or go here to examine President Obama's 2012 Budget Proposal. Just as last year, red represents cuts, green represents increased spending... the darker the color, the steeper the cut or increase. Notice the huge blocks of green on the left for Social Security and Medicare and the large block of green on the right for Interest on the Debt.

Thanks to Rose McAfee for the nice picture of Norwell's Sectional Victory. The 20-2 Lady Knights continue to the Peru Regional tomorrow (Saturday 2/19) against Yorktown (16-7) at 10:00am. Go Knights!

Jarrod Parker News

Diamondbacks'  Parker plots full-speed return after Tommy John surgery:

General manager Kevin Towers said Parker will not be held back this spring.

"I think sometimes you can tend to coddle people too long," Towers said. "I mean, this guy's almost two years post-op. He threw very good in instructional ball. he's been working his tail off here in the off season at Chase Field. He's a special pitcher. We're going to do what's right for him, but this guy's chomping at the bit."

Parker's fastball hit 97 mph in workouts last fall. In a two-inning instructional league appearance, he hit 95 mph 10 times, striking out three and walking one without allowing a hit.

"Parker was Arizona's No. 1 pick, the ninth selection overall, in the 2007 draft after going 12-0 with a 0.10 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 70 innings at Norwell High School in Ossian, Indiana. He was selected Indiana's Mr. Baseball on a team that went 35-0 and won the state title."

Free Iran!

Big Tree

The caption on this picture claims it is a fig tree in a sugar cane field Queensland, Australia, circa 1870. If so, that's a mighty big fig tree. Its figs must have been quite bruised when they fell.

Unrest in North Africa and the Middle East

A very nice article, attempting to explain the ongoing revolutions.

The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks

I've read about this before, but this is a very nice synopsys about the Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks.  Countless people are alive and thousands have become very wealthy through experimentation with her tissue.  Perhps there oughta be a law.

Norwell vs. Bellmont Tonight

The Norwell girls crushed Maconaquah in their Peru Sectional opener on Tuesday, 79-15, moving them to 18-2 on the season.  Norwell takes on Bellmont tonight at 7:30.  Norwell will be looking to repeat their January 15th defeat of the Braves.

Wayne takes on Peru in the opening game at 5pm.

Potential Cure for Type 1 Diabetes

Suppressing the hormone glucagon may restore glucose homeostasis to normal... Interesting.